1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to valves adapted for closing upon vibration. More specifically, this invention relates to inertial valves which close on vibration caused by earthquakes and terminate the flow of gas and the like thus preventing explosion caused by broken pipes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many valve are taught in the prior art and are typified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,700 to BEAZER. However, the inertial valves existing in the prior art are essentially a ball type device which rests on a shelf and falls into the valve seat upon vibration.
The ball type inertial valves do not lend themselves to easy reset. Spring loaded valves do reset easily, however, the handle used to reset the valve can also be used to defeat its purpose by tying the reset open.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an inertial valve that can be tripped by vibration and then easily reset.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a resetable inertial valve the operation of which cannot be defeated by the tying down the reset handle or by other external means.